A National Post report by David Akin cited a senior government official saying the $2 million plan to send the mailers to Canadian households directing them to a yet-to-be-launched website — mydemocracy.ca — is something the government had “planned to do early on.”

If that’s the case, said Alexandre Boulerice, the NDP’s deputy electoral reform critic and a member of the special committee on electoral reform, why are MPs only learning about it now? And what exactly is it?

“They never talked about it in committee. They never told us they would do that. We’re not against people going online and giving their opinion about democracy, of course. But there’s already a process, with the committee and MPs holding town hall meetings,” he said.

That process has involved a cross-country committee tour, hundreds of MP town halls, over 23,000 people participating in an online questionnaire, 550 briefs submitted to the committee and 729 witnesses appearing before it.

But as the special committee on electoral reform reconvenes next week ahead of a December 1 deadline to deliver a report with reform recommendations, Boulerice questioned the timing of this mysterious mass mail-out.

The mydemocracy.ca website is supposed to go live by December 1, with online consultations closing December 31.

“There’s no information. It’s a surprise for everybody. What will be the questions on this website? It’s really strange. The timing — just after the committee will table its report. We need some explanations,” Boulerice said.

The ACAN doesn’t refer to electoral reform specifically, but rather “a complex area of public policy.” Nor does it say anything about postcards or mailers being sent to individual households.

In September, a Privy Council Office spokesperson told Global the contract was for electoral reform and would cost no more than $250,000 for “maintenance, operation and analysis of results of the online platform.”

In response to a request for clarification about the mailer, a spokesperson for Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef said more information will be coming in due course.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who is also a member of the electoral reform committee, said she too was caught off guard. But she’s still willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt.

“When I first saw the story, I have to say I was thrown for a bit of a loop, because we’ve not heard anything about this,” she said.

“The timing piece that is odd is that the cards are printed, and whatever entity is printing it doesn’t have the benefit of what our committee is going to recommend. So the content of the postcard can’t help but be vague at this point.”

May added, though, that there’s nothing “nefarious” about giving Canadians another opportunity to express their opinions, and there’s nothing wrong with sending Canadians something that directs them to a website where they can have their say.

While Boulerice suggested the government could be looking for something additional to substantiate the narrative that Canadians are too divided on electoral reform to move forward, May thinks the fact that it’s sending out the mailers is actually evidence to the contrary.

“Maybe they are trying to back off. But I don’t see it. If they’re spending money on this postcard, doesn’t that go against the narrative that they’re trying to back off?”